Raw material 
sourcing

In 2025, we became certified against the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI™) Chain of Custody Standard, certified to purchase Physical BCI Cotton, as well as certified to the Global Organic Textile Standard, which demonstrates our commitment to responsible sourcing, full material segregation and enables us to make verified product claims that our customers can trust.

Following the certification of our largest cashmere supplier, Artwell, we worked with our Italian cashmere supplier, Effe Gi, to ensure that the products it supplied to us are now Sustainable Fibre Alliance (SFA) certified. We’ve also now stopped using decorative feathers in new own-brand lines of our seasonal decorative home products and occasion hats.

For the first time, in 2025 we reported the percentage of recycled polyester in John Lewis own-brand products. A new dashboard will now enable our teams to track progress towards our 2030 target.

In order to advance sustainability in the cocoa sector Waitrose joined the UK Cocoa Coalition this year, a pre-competitive group of chocolate companies, retailers and NGOs dedicated to advocacy work.

In 2026, we’ll be working on refreshed roadmaps to source deforestation- and-conversion-free raw materials in the absence of an enabling UK or EU regulatory environment. 

We expect to see progress in the UK and EU on due-diligence legislation for forest-risk commodities, in preparation for a 2027 rollout. We’ll continue our public advocacy efforts to encourage this legislation which will help us meet our deforestation-free targets for soya, palm, timber and cocoa. 

We’ll work closely with the Retail Palm Oil Group and the Oleochemical Working Group to find solutions in the responsible sourcing of palm derivatives and fractions. For soya, we’ll continue engaging with the Retail Soy Group to align retailers on a sourcing approach – which will include a hierarchy of options for suppliers to work through – as well as supporting The UK Soy Manifesto’s development of the BSI standard.

We’ll also be working on our roadmap towards sourcing deforestation- and conversion-free leather, following the publication of our first leather policy in 2025 and drawing on - guidance from Textile Exchange and Leather Working Group. 

For general merchandise supply chains, we’ll intensify our focus on the traceability of our supply chains beyond our tier one factories. Starting with cotton and MMCF, we’ll use the TextileGenesis traceability platform to support us.

In 2025, John Lewis became the first brand to source Physical BCI Cotton from Egypt, having achieved certification to BCI’s new Chain of Custody standard.

Since our Autumn/Winter collection, we’ve offered own-brand Egyptian cotton bedding and towels using certified Physical BCI Cotton. From Spring/Summer 2026, our certification allows us to make customer-facing claims on our products.

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI™) is the largest sustainability initiative for cotton and the most widely used sourcing option for the Partnership’s cotton products. Its mission is to help cotton communities survive and thrive while protecting and restoring the environment.

Working with both Better Cotton Initiatives and the Cotton Egypt Association, our sourcing of certified Egyptian cotton products is part of our long-standing commitment to support the region and bring its much-valued products to our customers. See the People in Supply Chains section of this website for more on our impact in this area. 

There are many complex, connected timelines that need to line up to secure this achievement, including aligning supply chains to attain certification in time for harvest and ensuring product packaging is correct at exactly the right moment. We also relied on Better Cotton Initiatives to launch a formal, recognised chain of custody that gave us  traceability back to the cotton’s country of origin – work that has been ongoing since 2018 and which we helped establish alongside the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Better Cotton Initiatives and other brands.

"The John Lewis Partnership has played a pioneering role as the first brand to source physically traceable BCI Cotton from Egypt. This commitment has helped establish a clear demand signal for traceability and has supported efforts to uphold the strong reputation and quality associated with Egyptian cotton", Ellie Gaffney, Senior Manager Member Engagement, Better Cotton Initiative HQ.